Social Initiatives

Sustainable Guar Initiative

Sustainable guar is cultivated by the farmers of the Sustainable Guar Initiative (SGI), which we have supported since 2017. The SGI, implemented by non-profit organization Technoserve and initiated by chemical company Solvay, teaches and promotes sustainable agricultural practices amongst 3,000 guar bean farmers across twenty villages in the desert regions of Rajasthan, India. Within the project, farmers – 25% of whom are women – are trained in seeding, culturing and harvesting Guar plants in the most sustainable and productive way, under fair working conditions.

Farmers and their families are also taught to cultivate individual kitchen gardens from which they can harvest edible plants, and they are educated in health and nutrition. Additionally, to reduce environmental footprint, no chemical input is used, and farmers are taught how to preserve soil condition.

Selecting ingredients with a transparent value chain, Authentic Beauty Concept contains Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride. This is a caring ingredient, that improves combability and hair feel. Sustainable Guar is cultivated by the farmers of the Sustainable Guar Initiative (SGI). Since 2017 we support this longterm SGI programme together with Solvay and the nonprofit organisation Technoserve in the sustainable production of the raw material Guar in India.

REVENUE INCREASE

• Implementation of good agricultural practices
• Increase productivity
   

ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

• No use of chemical input
• Soil conservation
• Backyard plantations
   

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

• Guar farming trainings by experts
• Health & Nutrition
• Elevate family nutrition

Within Dungargarh in India, the Sustainable Guar Initiative is operational in 7 new villages and has reached out to more than 1200 Guar farming households. It was set up as a three-year long engagement that we prolonged in 2020 for another three years. 

• Through trainings and demonstrations, teaching and helping farmers improving their Guar cultivation skills.
• Accompanying the farmers, especially the women, into the establishment of Kitchen Gardens, to fulfil nutritional needs of their family and to increase awareness regarding hygiene and cleanliness practices at home.
• Participating in the product identity system required to establish traceability of Guar produced within SGI as well as strengthening of Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) as a sustainable intervention.

Hairdressers Without Borders

Empowering for a change - Authentic Beauty Concept will be the main sponsor of hairdressers without borders for the upcoming 3 years.

Hairdressers Without Borders is training Nepalese women by empowering them to be self sufficient in the hairdressing/ beauty industry in  collaboration with Blink Now organisation in Nepal. Within the new planned program Hairdressers Without Borders will provide an advanced training for 15–20 chosen women that will become the salon managers of the new salons in Surkhet.

Ambassador for Hairdressers Without Borders is the international hair & make-up artist Juliette den Ouden, founder of JDO Academy and one of our Authentic Beauty Concept Advocates.